Cardinals will pursue Josh Donaldson this offseason

Donaldson is not a free agent, of course. He’s still arbitration eligible. The Blue Jays, though, dangled him at the trade deadline and may be willing to shop him again this offseason. Or maybe not: they’re letting Jose Bautista walk, obviously, but there has yet to be any suggestion that they plan to blow things up.

For his part, Donaldson has had another strong season in 2017, batting .272/.389/.564 with 33 homers and 77 RBI. He’s been particularly strong in the second half, hitting 24 of those homers and posting an OPS of 1.009 in 65 games. He missed about a month and a half between mid-April and late May with a strained calf.

Everyone needs a bat — the Cardinals particularly – and if Donaldson is available, he’d be a nice guy to get. I just sorta doubt the Jays will make him available.